Invitation
by Redwren
Summary: Artemis gets a mysterious invitation and finds out a little more about Holly. Meanwhile, Holly herself reflects on the relationships she has with the guys she knows. NOT slash! New chapter up! Finally!
1. A letter

Author's Note: This chapter has been redone

Author's Note: This chapter has been redone. I think it makes much more sense, and puts to use some of the constructive critism I received. However, I still think this is the most passable Artemis I've ever managed to write.

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but none of the characters.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was calm that evening. Artemis was doing his homework at the table and Juliet was sitting across from him, doodling on a spare piece of paper from Artemis' notebook. Artemis Fowl the First was reading the newspaper in the chair to her right.

"Arty, dear, you have a letter," said Angelina Fowl, entering the kitchen and holding the envelope out to her son. Artemis looked up from his homework with a slight frown. He never got mail, except from relatives who seemed bent on smothering him in baby-talk and ridiculous cards.

"You'd better hope it's not from your Aunt Madeline." said Juliet with a snicker.

Artemis groaned. Aunt Maddy, as she liked to be called, was the worst when it came to the aforementioned baby-talk. He took the letter from his mother and put it aside, resolving to read it later. Angelina adjusted her skirt and went to kiss her husband on the forehead before gracefully exiting to finish whatever business had occupied her before.

Artemis turned back to his homework. The term 'homework' would not have been his preferred term. Joke, more like. He had only just started, but in five minutes he would be done and get an A+ anyway.

"Artemis," said his father, folding up the newspaper neatly. "We need to talk."

"About what, Father?" Artemis couldn't imagine what his father would want to talk about.

"Come with me and I'll tell you."

Artemis Sr. led his son into the study and sat him down in a comfortable chair. "We need to discuss your report card."

Artemis Jr. stared at his father. "What about it? I have perfect grades."

"I know you do, Arty. And I know that you're taking nearly all of your classes as Advanced Placement courses."

Artemis decided not to mention that _all _of his classes were Advanced Placement.

"Artemis…I know you're capable of more than this. You need much more of a challenge than this school provides. Your mother and I…we were discussing transferring you to another school, or, preferably, have you skip grades until your intellect is actually being put to good use."

The teenage boy paused for a moment and looked seriously at his father. "Are you saying my intellect isn't being put to good use now?"

His father laughed, a real laugh. "I wonder sometimes." Artemis Sr.'s face sobered again. "Your mother just wanted me to consult you before we did anything like that. Will you think about it?"

Artemis nodded. "Of course."

His father nodded back and left him to his thoughts.

Not much later, Artemis rejoined his family in the kitchen and finished his homework. He sorted it all into the correct folders and piled them up in his arms.

"Don't forget your letter," said Juliet, who tossed it onto the pile.

Artemis, precariously balancing the stack, nodded his thanks and made his way upstairs to his room.

Later that night, Artemis climbed into bed and thought about the conversation between himself and his father. _Maybe skipping grades would be nice, _he thought, staring at the whitewashed ceiling. _It would be much more difficult to do anything…'extra-curricular'… in that environment, though._

Artemis sighed and turned over, resolving to wait until morning to make any decisions. He fell asleep and forgot all about the letter sitting patiently on top of his homework.


	2. Shopping

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Slimefrog because she so graciously let me borrow her character

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Slimefrog because she so graciously let me borrow her character. This story is sort of a sequel to her story Strictly Ballroom, which I highly recommend.

This chapter also redone and also makes much more sense!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Artemis Fowl characters, and Carmen Geum is Slimefrog's.

Holly was having the time of her life. Actually, she was the farthest thing from it. Her quirky and 'fashionable' friend Carmen Geum had been dragging her around the Haven City Mall for hours now, and she still hadn't found a dress that met her very high standards.

"How about this one?" asked Carmen, pulling a shapeless magenta dress off the rack.

"Nope."

"This one?" A blue puffy gown.

Holly shook her head.

"What about this one?" Pink lace and a ruff.

"Definitely not."

Holly flopped onto a nearby bench while her friend continued to rifle through the many racks of clothing. She was not looking forward to the Millennia Ball. So what if it happened only once in a lifetime? She didn't like dancing, dresses, or anything that was related to them. And after the incident at the last ball she had attended, she disliked them even more. (A/N: read Strictly Ballroom if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

"Aha!"

Holly looked apprehensively over at Carmen, who was peeking out from behind a shelf with a triumphant grin.

"I've found it!" she announced. "The absolutely perfect dress!"

Carmen motioned for her victim, er, friend, to come nearer, and held the dress up to Holly.

"Well…."

"Well what?" asked the Latino elf.

"Well, I guess it's alright."

Carmen sighed. "Look, Holls, this one has everything you wanted. It's not frilly, flowery, fuzzy, too short, too long, or too colorful." Holly's list was in fact much longer, but Carmen didn't feel like going over the whole thing again. "Actually, the reason this caught my eye was because it's the same color green as the LEP suits. You _have_ to like it! Please?"

Now it was Holly's turn to sigh. "Okay, okay, I'll take it. But only if it means we can get the heck out of here. I can't take the girly-ness anymore."

Carmen snorted in a good-natured way and patted Holly on the back. "Oh, Holls, it's not anywhere near over yet."

Holly cursed loudly under her breath, causing a young elf with two children to glare at her. She glared right back, and her adversary scurried off. Before Holly could cause anymore mayhem, Carmen caught her by the arm and dragged her off to the cashier's.

Now at this point an explanation of what the Millennia Ball is might be necessary. The Millennia Ball happens only once every millennia, hence the name, and is the only organized fairy festival held above ground. Everyone who receives an invitation must be present, unless they have a really good excuse. If you do receive an invitation and don't come, a mild bad-luck curse will be put on you and last for the rest of your life.

This tradition was started when King Frond was first crowned king. He wanted to celebrate the occasion, and invited all of those who were loyal to him. Unfortunately, quite a few people never showed up, and his Majesty assumed that they were against his kingship. He cursed the poor fairies who didn't come to a lifetime of bad luck.

The curse was only kept as tradition anymore, and a curse could be appealed if there was a good enough reason. A doctor, for example, would not do well at all if he was cursed.

The Ball was usually held in the most barren field or out-of-the-way meadow possible, to keep humans as far away as could be done. Still, security was excruciatingly tight. You could not go in or out without flashing an accepted invitation to the guards posted at all entrances.

Humans had grown much more numerous in the millennium since the last Ball. Some humans had even received invitations in the past, usually because of some service to the fairy world. It was the keeping uninvited guests away that would be much harder this time around. All in all, it would prove to be an interesting event, indeed.


	3. Crime and Punishment

**_Thanks to all of my reviewers who have been waiting patiently for me to get my but in gear and get another chapter up. Hopefully another will be coming soon... no guarantees, though._**

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Artemis Fowl walked coolly down the third corridor of St. Bartelby's School. His walk suggested that he had every right to be there, though he most certainly did not. Sneaking out of class was not usually his style, but this was the last option. He just couldn't stand another day of being yelled at in gym class.

Artemis was so preoccupied with thoughts of revenge that he walked right into the School Principal, Mr. Hinder.

"Artemis," blustered Mr. Hinder. "I thought you were supposed to be in the gymnasium."

"I, er, wasn't feeling well." substituted Artemis, drawing up the first excuse he could think of.

"Oh?"

Artemis paused to study the principal' face. His tone suggested that he knew something the boy genius didn't, and Artemis hated that tone.

Mr. Hinder noticed the look. "I'll get to the point, Artemis. I don't like you sneaking out of class, and I think I will call on your parents to address the issue."

Hoping to thwart any plans of escape, the principal escorted Artemis to his office and telephoned Angelina directly. After listening to the conversation and gleaning what he could from it, Artemis learned that he was being sent straight home to face his parents' wrath. It wasn't a good situation, not a good situation at all.

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The Principal had been almost gleeful as he watched Artemis follow Butler to the limo. That awful boy, he thought, is finally going to get the punishment he deserves.

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After several hours of lectures and another hour of waiting for his parents to come up with a suitable punishment, Artemis was exhausted. He didn't care what they decided to do with him anymore; in fact he was feeling rather rebellious. He flopped down in a chair, and in the process he knocked over the stack of papers he had set down the night before. 

Sighing, he bent down to pick them off of the floor and stack them back on the dresser. He turned and noticed an envelope on the floor. He must have missed it. He picked up and turned it over in his hands.

There was writing on the front, in curly formal lettering:

_To Artemis Fowl II, courtesy of HPS._

He was just slitting the top when his mother called him from downstairs. Well, he thought at the letter, you'll have to wait until the next lecture is over.

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**I'm sorry about another short chapter, but long ones just aren't my thing. Maybe I'll get into the habit later in life... In the meanwhile please read and review! The author appreciates all reviews!**

**By the way... Can anyone guess what the letters HPS stand for?**


	4. Torture

Holy God, it's been so long since I worked on this fic! I haven't even thought about it for a long time, but then I logged in and felt seriously guilty. Therefore, I am going to try my best to give this fic a good ending! I hope my readers come back…

Hey! Applause for hollybridgetpeppermint for guessing correctly that HPS stands for Haven Postal Service!

I would also like to thank my reviewers, who include: LiannaWeschester, Update, hollybridgetpeppermint, refloc, LandUnderWave, xwLic, Brizo, LittleWitchyGirl, MoonVampire, hypergurl, sweet candy, and Aura of Chaos. huggles them

As for Klaxon, I have a bone to pick with you: Carmen is not my character. If Slimefrog wants her to be a Latino elf, then she can have it that way. Live with it.

**To all of my lovely readers-reveiwers: this is not a slash fic. Not in any sense. No one falls in love with anyone else. They just go to the ball, have a good time, and think about things. K? **

Okay. Have fun!

Meanwhile, Holly Short was standing just outside of one the buildings she had sworn on her life she would never set foot in. The sign, written in hot pink curlicue letters, said _Belle's Beauty Salon. _

Holly turned to her friend (or traitor, since Carmen was responsible for this). "Please don't make me go in there. I may just throw up on their incredibly expensive shoes."

Carmen simply laughed. "Holly! It's not as bad as it looks, I promise. Can you do it for me? You know I might just die of shame if you go to the ball looking sub-standard!"

Holly glared poison daggers at her and stomped through the door, resolutely ignoring the cheery tinkle of the bells hung on it. She stood in front of the reception desk and stared moodily at her feet.

"Hi there," said Carmen to the receptionist. "My friend is in serious need of a makeover for the ball tonight. Is she salvageable?"

If looks could kill, Holly would have vaporized Carmen right then and there. Unfortunately for her, Carmen was in fabulous health, and she and the platinum blonde receptionist dragged her over to one of the-pink!- chairs and sat her down. Another woman walked over to Holly, patting down her long red hair and chewing huge wad of bubble gum.

"Hey there shweetie," _pop_ "I'm Dawn, and I'll be doing ya hair." _pop_ "Looksh like we got our work cut out for ush." _pop._

Holly had to work to keep her eye from twitching. _If she pops that gum one more ti—_

_POP._

Holly stared at the rows of scissors, combs, and razors, and seriously began to consider suicide a viable option.

The first part of the torture was admittedly not so bad. Dawn washed what little hair she had (Holly couldn't help that she preferred buzz cuts) and applied a potion that lengthened her hair by about two feet.

After that things got bad. There was quite an argument between Dawn and Carmen concerning which particular hairstyle would suit Holly best, not that Holly herself cared, and finally ended in a compromise: Something long and pretty, but not too flamboyant.

The styling itself wasn't too unbearable, since Holly did get some satisfaction every time she saw a lock of her unnaturally long hair hit the floor. It wasn't until Dawn started applying massive amounts of hairspray that she simply couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Do you have to use _that _much?" she protested through coughs and gasps. "It's killing me!"

"It is not," said Carmen.

Dawn popped her gum again. "The shmell will wear off after a few minutesh anyway."

Holly was then turned to face the mirror and get a look at the final result. She stared in shock at the soft curls framing her face. "I…kind of like it, actually."

"_Yes!!_" Carmen cheered. "I would kiss you right now, Holls, but I don't think I would live very long if I did."

"Damn right." mumbled Holly.

Back at the reception desk, Holly and Carmen forked over their money. A different receptionist, this one with brown hair and pigtails, counted the money and gave them their change. "Thanks a bunch!" said Carmen cheerfully. Holly mumbled something along the same lines, and the two of them left.

Carmen smiled mischievously. "Now all we have to do is get you dressed!"

Holly groaned.

This one's a bit short, but I'm still getting back into the swing of this fic. Expect longer chapters! Chew me out if I don't make them longer!!


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